This invention relates to bolsters and particularly to bolsters which may be used by physical therapists in working with handicapped individuals.
The prior art discloses various bolsters which are used for conventional purposes and which are more in the line of upholstery using stuffed pillow type construction. Typical examples of prior art bolsters of somewhat greater interest are set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 691,119 to J. David, 793,477 to S. Van Duzer and 3,378,860 to F. C. Frazier.
The Van Duzer and David patents disclose bolsters which are not completely closed internally and they do disclose substantially circular spacer arrangements about which the bolster is wrapped. The overall construction is substantially different and the purposes for which these bolsters were designed limits their use.
The Frazier patent illustrates a bolster which has a center portion that is generally cylindrical in configuration and has a rigid inner frame or core over which cushioning material such as foam rubber is mounted. The patent does not disclose the internal construction of the present invention nor is suitable for the particular applications which the present invention is designed.
The present invention discloses a bolster which is extremely light weight and which may be used in physical therapy applications for handicapped individuals. The bolster is used to exercise various muscles by rolling on or straddling the bolster, etc. For use in such applications, the bolster must be extremely sturdy despite the light weight thereof and yet the price must be reasonable in order to facilitate wide spread adoption. The ease of production has also resulted in low cost for this extremely versatile physical therapy tool.